Published: July 05, 2008 09:27 pm         

Highway kick-off coming this fall

Prep work continues on Hoosier Heartland Industrial Corridor

There’s no “dirt, dust, or big yellow machines” yet, but that doesn’t mean nothing is being done on the Hoosier Heart Industrial Corridor, project officials said Thursday.

Work on the part of the road connecting Lafayette to Logansport is proceeding on schedule, said project manager Jim Earl. With Gov. Mitch Daniels pushing hard for progress, an official “groundbreaking” is slated for October, with construction beginning in Tippecanoe County the same month. The completion date for the project has been pushed up to 2013.

“With the short time frame the governor gave us, we’re going full bore here,” Earl said. “We’re working lots of hours and getting lots of stuff done.”

“Stuff” includes acquiring property on which the road will be built and readying notices to be sent out to construction contractors, he said. Assuming the land can be obtained, advertisements for the first contracts will be sent out later this month.

The project “started as a dream in the ’70s,” said Mayor Mike Fincher, an active member of the Hoosier Heartland Corridor Community Action Coalition. Back then, the plan was to connect Interstate 65 with Interstate 69. Sometime later, officials decided to extend the proposed road to Toledo, Ohio.

The project was repeatedly postponed for lack of funding, Fincher said. But today, thanks to Daniels’ Major Moves initiative, it looks like the dream will finally become a reality. The 35.3-mile Lafayette-to-Logansport stretch is the final missing piece to the corridor puzzle.

The Indiana Department of Transportation has divided the final portion into four segments, Earl said. Although the part east from Logansport to Toledo has already been built, construction on the final portion will begin on the western segment, which runs from Lafayette to just west of Delphi. That segment is scheduled to be finished by 2010.

The reason for that decision is safety reasons, said Earl, calling it the “most dangerous portion” of the existing road, Ind. 25.

Land, acquired through purchase at fair market value, is being bought in Tippecanoe County, and land acquisitions will soon begin in Carroll and Cass counties, he said. INDOT officials hope work on the other segments can begin while the first segment is still being worked on. Everything should be finished by 2013.

But completion is not quite a certainty. A project that has already been delayed 25 years still faces challenges, or at least delays, today.

While money for the project is earmarked through the Major Moves deal, things could change quickly. After the November elections, the new Indiana General Assembly could have different priorities, Earl acknowledged. Daniels himself could also be voted out of office.

But Republican state Sen. Tom Weatherwax says the project will continue as planned no matter what happens in the election.

“Rest assured that a lot of people in the General Assembly know what the priorities are,” said Weatherwax, a fierce advocate of the project who himself is not seeking re-election. “We’re not worried about the governor changing anything. That would be political suicide.”

One of the reasons the project was fast-tracked was to get progress done before the election, said Weatherwax, adding that the project will be especially fine if Republicans control the legislature. Currently, Republicans hold 33 of the 50 Senate seats and 49 of the 100 seats in the House.

Fincher said his biggest concern is that the road will never reach Logansport.

“Obviously, I’d rather have them start on this end, but I understand the dangers of the other end,” he said. “But I’ve been assured by the governor that the funding is there, and I have to take them at their word.”

What happens if funding runs out before construction reaches Logansport?

“Good question,” said Earl, on a conference call interview Thursday afternoon.

“The funding is there,” INDOT spokesman Andy Dietrick cut in. “There are going to be variables anytime you look in the future—costs could increase, costs could decrease. The Major Moves program accounts for the funding for this project.”       

When completed, the highway will provide a large upgrade to the highly dangerous Ind. 25, Fincher said. In addition to increasing safety, the project will be a boon to Indiana business, Dietrick said.

“It’s a four-lane highway going from Lafayette to open water ports, and that’s huge,” he said. “It’s huge for exporting agricultural goods and importing things from around the world. It’s a huge advantage to the state of Indiana.”

Brian Rosenthal can be reached at (574) 732-5148, or via e-mail at Brian.Rosenthal@pharostribune.com